I’ve secretly always wanted to try homeschooling or independent study. The concept of being stuck in a classroom for most of the day is not natural to human beings, but our generation has adapted to the grueling hours of school work. However, I’d wondered if I’d succeed in my studies with only myself to motivate me. This past week, I’ve had the chance to find out.

The night before my first “remote learning experience” I set an alarm for 8:30 a.m. and prepared a detailed schedule to complete my assignments so I could enjoy free time later in the day. I had set myself up for a well-balanced, productive day.

The sad truth is that I dragged myself out of bed at 11 a.m. and watched Netflix until I got hungry for lunch, cleaned my room, and forced myself to go for a run, all well-practiced forms of procrastination. Around 7:30 p.m. I cracked open my Google Classroom and saw a list of assignments posted from every single teacher, even the ones whose classes barely require work during normal school conditions. The reality of the hours required to complete this slew of classwork hit me all too fast, and I shut my computer and watched Netflix until I felt tired enough to sleep.

Needless to say, my first day of online school didn’t live up to expectations. In the days that followed, I continued to attempt to lay out a productive schedule for myself and continued to disappoint, so I started to get more realistic. I completed the work that was due the soonest each day and started to figure out what worked best for my focus. After a week, I was able to get almost up-to-date with my schoolwork and felt successful but also balanced. Time spent on Netflix was slowly replaced with crafts, guitar practice, and organizational things I had been meaning to do for a long time. 

Although I got off to a rough start, I have established a level of productivity I am satisfied with. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to follow a detailed routine, but who knows how long we will have to keep up with online school. Maybe it will even become the new norm, and hopefully I’ll pick up some good habits that will be reflected in homework completion when school returns to normal.

I have concluded that online school is not the best option for me as I move forward in my education. Maybe it works for some students with extremely intense self-discipline, but that’s not me. As much as I hate waking up early to sit in classrooms all day, it does keep me on a tight schedule. I hope my peers have fared better than me in their “remote learning experiences.”